Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, co-chairs of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, today joined more than 750 mayors across the United States to call for President Obama’s leadership on common sense reform to the nation’s gun laws. In a letter sent to the President just before his public address, the bipartisan coalition proposes three concrete action items in the wake of the Newtown mass shooting: mandate criminal background checks on all U.S. gun sales; work to get military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines off our streets; and enact measures to make gun trafficking a federal crime. (Copy of letter attached.) Also today, the Boston Police Department is announcing its collection numbers of illegal guns in 2012.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s taken such a heinous crime like the one in Newtown for our voices to be heard. The ache that is being felt by Newtown families is being felt every day by Boston families whose loved ones have fallen victim to gun violence,” Mayor Menino said. “Today’s announcement from the President is a step in the right direction, but we’ll continue to demand a plan, and immediate action, until our nation’s gun laws make sense. We look forward to working with Vice President Biden on a path forward. Enough is enough.”

As the nation engages in a dialogue on legislation and policy to make communities safer, the Boston Police Department continues to remove illegal guns from Boston’s neighborhoods. Despite some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, BPD continues to remove weapons due to glaring loopholes in federal law. To date in 2012, the Boston Police Department has removed more than 500 illegal firearms from Boston’s streets. Sixty percent of all crime guns recovered by BPD come from outside the state.

“Now is the time for Washington to take action,” Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said. “Let’s make it tougher for felons, domestic abusers and other dangerous criminals to get guns. We need federal legislation that would require gun buyers to pass criminal background checks and prohibit any private citizen from owning military style high capacity firearms. It is clear these types of weapons have one purpose, to kill large numbers of people quickly, and it is essential we get these guns off our streets.”

Boston Police have also seized several of the deadly, high powered weapons and high capacity magazines used in the tragic mass shootings in Tucson, Aurora, and, most recently, Newtown. Four Bushmaster rifles, eight Glock handguns and three Sig Sauer handguns – the same makes and styles used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting – have been removed by BPD in 2012. Additionally, seven AK variant-type rifles have been removed. All are considered high-capacity firearms.

Recent BPD seizures of high capacity weapons include:

December 15, 2012: Search warrant resulted in seizure of one shotgun, two rifles and three semi-automatic pistols in East Boston.

October 4, 2012: Search warrant resulted in seizure of seven firearms, including two assault type weapons, five handguns, and 1,000+ plus rounds of ammunition in Roslindale.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns has created and advocated for legislation to fix background checks, close loopholes, and make communities safer since its founding by Mayor Menino and Mayor Bloomberg in April 2006. In reaction to the recent spike in shootings since July, the coalition is also demanding action from the President and Congress on high capacity magazines and assault weapons. The Massachusetts delegation of Mayors Against Illegal Guns now includes 22 Mayors, with seven new Mayors joining over the past week. Mayors recently joining the bipartisan coalition include Attleboro Mayor Kevin Dumas, Beverly Mayor Bill Scanlon, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria, Lowell Mayor Patrick Murphy, Quincy Mayor Tom Koch, Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan and Melrose Mayor Robert Dolan.